Life course theory has been used to explain why people stop committing crime and/or deviant behavior. Life course theory scholars have demonstrated important life events, such as marriage, gaining employment, or joining the military, have led to reduced recidivism; however, drug courts might also legitimately be considered a turning point for an offender. This study utilized semistructured interviews with former drug court participants (n ¼ 29) in an attempt to expand life course theory and demonstrate how drug courts should be considered a facilitator of ''turning points'' for previous criminal offenders. During the interviews, participants discussed how drug court helped them attain many important skills/ideas: self-esteem, improved relationships with family and children, a general educational development certificate, a driver's license, and/or gainful employment. A gendered analysis demonstrates women found drug court to be more useful at facilitating turning points than their male peers. Additionally, recidivism rates for the participants were lower than similarly situated offenders at the state level. While further research is needed, this study begins to advance the expansion of life course theory.
Since the inception of drug court in the late 1980s, it has become a widely used alternative to incarcerating drug offenders. Previous research has detailed the effectiveness of programming on recidivism, participants' perceptions of the service delivery model, and cost-effectiveness. The scholarship related to drug offender motivations to participate in drug court has largely discussed family obligations and the sense of loss stemming from drug abuse, and only two studies have discussed the fear of prison as a primary motivator. This research utilized semi-structured interviews with former drug court participants from a rural county in California to ascertain their motivation for engaging in drug court (N = 29). The results show 79% of participants were trying to avoid prison or jail, while 62% were motivated to end the cycle of drug abuse in their lives. The conclusion has policy implications for future drug court design; however, additional research is needed.
The use of home visits has a long and storied history in the United States from different disciplines, such as nursing, prenatal mothers, young families, health promotion, and community corrections. Ecological theory explains how formal actors play a role in the promotion in the health field through home visits, but does not address community corrections home visits. Through the use of 30 semi-structured interviews, this research seeks to expand the understanding of ecological theory by capturing the perceptions of offenders sentenced to home visits conducted by a sheriff's office. The findings suggest the participants supported the home visits by formal agents and, in general, the home visits created an atmosphere of respect between the participants and sheriff's office personnel. This study creates the context for future research to understand the role of formal agents in recidivism and evaluate the efficacy of home visits by community corrections agencies.
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